Sergei Bodrov joins Venice jury

Russian filmmaker rounds out festival roster

MILAN — Russian helmer and screenwriter Sergei Bodrov will complete the roster on the International Jury for the 2009 Venice Film Festival.

He joins jury chairman Ang Lee, and other members Sandrine Bonnaire, Liliana Cavani, Joe Dante, Anurag Kashyap and Luciano Ligabue in this year’s fest, the 66th edition of the historic event.

Bodrov rose to fame in 1996 thanks to the cult classic “Prisoner of the Caucasus” about the imprisonment of two Red Army soldiers, which with its with allusions to Chechnya, was nominated for the Oscar and the Golden Globe awards as best foreign film.

The Russian filmmaker, who currently works in the U.S., was also up for an Academy Award for his most recent pic, 2007’s “Mongol”, about the life of Genghis Khan.

The International Jury will announce the awards on the closing night of the fest on Sept. 12.. This year’s Venice fest runs from September 2 to12 and is directed by Marco Müller and chaired by Paolo Baratta.